


finals and fist fights | WayV

by daintydoie



Category: Kpop - Fandom, NCT (Band), WAYV, cpop
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Barista Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, College Student Hendery, College Student Lucas, College Student Winwin, Gen, Kidnapping, Roommates, Secret Agent Dong Sicheng, Secret Agent Huang Xuxi, Some depictions of violence, Spies & Secret Agents, dorm mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28751424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daintydoie/pseuds/daintydoie
Summary: “I didn’t think a guy like you would enjoy Totally Spies.” “Come on man! Why do you think I agreed to do this job?!”Winwin and Lucas never really had regular lives in college. Dorm mates by day, secret agents by night. They may not have sleek suits or fancy gadgets, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do their job well.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> before anything, i just wanna thank my sister amy for helping me proofread and check my writing since shes a creative writing major, sorry if i annoyed u too much when i ask abt my writing, and also thank u to my twt bestie hana for encouraging me to write this and helping me whenever !! i love u both and i hope u enjoy reading <33

The sun peaks through the faded grey clouds on this gloomy Friday afternoon. The students of Huang University gather in the main building of the campus, looking for their friends. Amidst the slight chaos, Winwin sits silently on one of the benches, coffee from the vending machine in hand. He takes a sip as the building gets packed with students. He’s not one to actively look for his friends, nor is he a fan of big crowds. He already texted Lucas where he is, he should be coming for him any minute now.

And as if right on cue, Lucas spots Winwin and makes his way through the crowds. “Winwin! guess what?!” Lucas practically screams in Winwin’s face. “I got 90/100 for our business presentation!” 

“Woah! Nice one bro!” Winwin congratulates him. “We should celebrate, tell Hendery to meet us as the cafe nearby, it’s on me!” 

The two men walk past the groups of people and exit the main gates. They walk a few blocks until they reach Louis and Leon’s cafe, a fairly small but comfortable cafe. Taking a spot next to the window, they chat and wait until Hendery arrives.

“How was your script?” Lucas asks. “I don’t know, it still hasn’t been returned yet, our professor isn’t finished grading them.” Winwin sulks as he takes a spoonful of cheesecake. “I think if he gives me a low grade, I’m just going to lie on the ground and never get up.” The doors of the cafe swing open as Hendery arrives and sees his dorm mates. “Hey Lucas! Good job on your presentation!” Hendery blurts happily as he sits in the booth beside Lucas. “As a reward, I’ll let you borrow any of my clothes for a week!” 

“There’s no point in that! I already steal most of your clothes!” Lucas blurts back. Hendery then notices that Lucas is wearing one of his favorite hoodies and looks in disbelief. “Stop raiding my closet!” “Stop having nice clothes!” The two bicker while Winwin quietly eats his food.

The barista then comes with Lucas’ order. He sets the cup onto the table and gives them a polite smile. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, the tattoo on his right forearm visible. The metal nameplate on his apron spelled out ‘Ten’, a name Winwin and Lucas have heard before. “Hey, isn’t that the guy you told us about?” Winwin whispers to Hendery, seemingly frozen in his spot. “Oh the guy with the forearm tattoo?” Lucas says a bit louder. “You didn’t tell us he worked here, he’s-“ 

Before Lucas could finish, Hendery quickly put his hand over Lucas’ mouth. “Don’t talk so loudly! He might hear you!” “I think he already has.” Winwin gestures to the counter where Ten is giggling and looking in their direction. Mission failed. Hendery sighs, his chances are already ruined and he hasn’t even talked to him yet. Way to go team. 

While Lucas both teases and apologises to Hendery, Winwin’s phone vibrates. He pulls it out of his pocket and checks it. A new message from a random number. Usually he would ignore these kinds of things, as they would be scam or spam messages. But this one was different. It said: “I have something for the both of you, come later at around 7pm, you know which place.” Winwin checked the number it was sent from. It ended with 00. Lucas also got the same text at around the same time. This means only one thing, and it comes from only one person:

Liu Yangyang has a mission for them.

_______

“Don’t you guys wanna have dinner first?” Hendery asks. “Don’t worry.” Winwin answers. “We’ll be back in a bit, something just came up.”

“Something always comes up, and around the same time too.” Hendery whines a bit. “What the hell do you guys even do this late at night?” Lucas and Winwin stay silent. Quick, think of an excuse. 

“Workshop!” Lucas spits out. “Late night workshop.” “You and Winwin have a workshop together?” Hendery says, a bit skeptical of his friend’s response. “Yup, workshop.” Winwin chimes in. He might as well go with it, he can’t think of anything else. “Very intense, very unpredictable, but we have fun don’t we bro?” He nudges Lucas and they both awkwardly laugh. Hendery lets out a sigh. “Whatever you say, just don’t come back too late.”

He waves his friends goodbye and enters the dorm building. Winwin and Lucas look at each other. Phew, that was a close one. “Late night workshop?” “Why? As if you had any better ideas!” The two friends walk away from the dorm building, looking back to see if anyone was following them.

After about 20 minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination. An newly built art museum, painted in all white. There was a stone path leading to the main entrance, already locked up for the night. Winwin and Lucas walk right in front of the entrance, their feet sore. “God why do we always have to walk places?” Winwin complains as he leans on the the wall beside the locked doors. “Walking around campus is tiring enough, now I have to walk to my job too?” “For exercise I guess.” Lucas responds while massaging his legs. “Maybe it’s a sign we should just get a car.” Winwin nods, not a bad idea.

“I see you’re both on time.”

Winwin and Lucas look back at the stone path to see a man in a black hoodie, cap, and sweatpants. In his hand, he holds a ring of keys. He approaches the entrance while fumbling for the right key. “And for the record, no, you can’t get a car. License plates can be tracked.” He says, unlocking the entrance while the other two groan in response. He lets them inside the museum and leads them into a secluded room. There’s a long white table complete with office chairs and a projector, a room fit for important meetings. Lucas and Winwin settle down on the chairs while the PowerPoint is being set up. 

“Yangyang, can we at least get bikes?” Winwin pleads. “We can’t just run to our missions all the time, that’s impractical.” Yangyang ponders on it. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea, but you’re gonna buy it yourself.” Winwin and Lucas high five each other, at least they won’t be running all the time. 

“Now, focus.” Yangyang slides them a folder. Lucas opens it to see photos and documents of one person. Yangyang flashes the same documents on the PowerPoint. It reads:

Name: Xiao Dejun  
Birthday: August 8, 1999  
Status: Alive  
Location: Huang University (Exact Address is unknown)  
Relations:  
\- Father: CEO Xiao, first name is unknown  
\- Mother: unknown  
\- Siblings: none

“Do you know him?” Yangyang asks. “It says he goes to your school.” 

“Yup.” Lucas nods as he scans the documents in the folder. “We have one class together. But other than that, I don’t talk to him.” “What’s with him?” Winwin asks. “Well, according to the documents given, he’s the son of a well-known CEO.” Yangyang answers. “Other than that, there’s not much. But there has been news that his dad was involved in a scandal, and it lead to him laying off his workers and leaving them in debt.” 

“So people are planning to use his son for ransom?” Winwin inquires. “It’s possible.” Lucas replies. “Dejun doesn’t really talk to anyone, maybe he knows he’s in danger.” 

“So who exactly is after him?” Winwin looks back at Yangyang. “Probably one of his dad’s old employees.” Yangyang replies. “We don’t know exactly who, but with what we have so far, it could be someone in this area.” 

Winwin and Lucas have had much more dangerous missions than this, should be a piece of cake. Watch Dejun, find out who’s after him, kick some ass and arrest them. The fact that Dejun goes to the same school as them makes this even easier. There’s just one tiny minuscule problem....

Fuck. It’s finals in the coming weeks.

“Do you think we can get help from the other units? We’ll be busy as hell for our last semester.” Winwin suggests.

“The 127 unit?” “Can’t. They’re busy busting out a huge drug cartel.” 

“What about DREAM?” Lucas adds. Yangyang shuts him down immediately. “The new recruits? Hell no. They haven’t completed their training yet.” 

Winwin and Lucas sink into their seats. I guess it’s just up to them. Being a part time NCA, aka Neo Culture Agent, was never an easy job, let alone as college students. It does however, pay better than the other part time jobs they’ve had, so it’s not all that bad. They’re still alive after all.

“Just keep Dejun company until we find out who’s out to get him.” Yangyang closes his presentation and takes a seat. “It could save his life, you know.” Winwin and Lucas finish reading all the papers in the folder before giving it back to Yangyang. “Report back to me if you have any idea who it could be.” Yangyang ends their meeting. “See you around Agent Sicheng and Agent Xuxi.”

Lucas checks the time. 8 o’clock. Ended earlier than usual. Hendery won’t suspect anything. Better than going home after missions with bruises and minor cuts and Hendery asking if they came from Fight Club.

“Who do you think it could be?” Lucas asks Winwin as they walk back to the dorm. “Like who could be after Dejun? Not sure.” “You think they know that he goes to our uni?” “Well, even if they do, it doesn’t really help us find out who they are. I’m just annoyed we have to do this before finals season.” “I can’t wait to graduate.” “Me too bud.” 

The two college friends walk in silence for a while. The moon reflects its light a bit brighter tonight.

“Do you still plan to do this after grad?” Lucas continues. “This whole agent thing?” Winwin thinks about it. “Probably. It’s fun, and gives us a pretty good salary.” “Yeah, although I kinda wish we had a break at least. We’ve been running around and fighting people everywhere for almost two years?” “Damn. It’s been that long? Thought maybe they’d let us have new gadgets or at least a car.” “This is nothing like Totally Spies.” “Maybe there’s a difference between spies and agents. Also, you watched Totally Spies?” “You didn’t? That was the shit back then!”

Winwin laughs at his friend. “I didn’t think a guy like you would enjoy Totally Spies.” “Come on man! Why do you think I agreed to do this job?!” The college boys laughed even harder and started racing back to the dorm. 

______

It’s 10 o’clock in the evening. The city streets are bustling with people going to bars to celebrate the end of another stressful week. Ten, however, doesn’t feel like drinking past midnight today. His energy has been drained from his shift at the coffee shop, he just wants to go home. The taxi drives swiftly through the street lined with restaurants, bars, and shops until it reaches a tall white residential building. Ten pays the driver, exits the taxi, and enters the building.

The elevator dings as Ten reaches the floor of his apartment. He walks through the hallway of doors while taking out the keys from his backpack. After finding his unit, he unlocks the door and goes inside.

“You’re early.” 

Kun doesn’t look up from his laptop screen. “Thought you’d still be at the bar.” “Change of plans.” Ten throws his bag near the coffee table and collapses onto the couch. “Gonna catch up on sleep before...”

“Before what?” “Finals season.” Ten shudders. “More of those uni students are probably gonna study in the cafe til midnight. Please my sleep schedule is already so fucked.” He puts his face into a pillow and whines while Kun chuckles.

“How about you?” Ten lies on his back, head on the pillow. “Have you found him yet?”

“Dejun?” ”Yeah, him.” Kun stops typing and takes a deep breath. “Not yet. Right now, I’m just focusing on not losing this job.” He stands up from the dining table to get a glass of water.

“What exactly are you gonna do when you find him?” “You’ll know once we actually find him.” Kun takes a sip of water. “Which probably won’t be anytime soon.” They both stay quiet for a while until Ten gets up and grabs his bag. “I’m gonna take a shower and sleep, my eyes are getting droopy.” “Hey! You still owe me rent from last month!” “I know! I’ll pay you tomorrow!” Ten weakly shuts the door on Kun.

“He’s unbelievable.” Kun mumbles to himself. He sits down in front of his laptop and finishes the rest of his work. Afterwards, he open a new tab and types:

‘CEO Xiao scandal’

He scans the news dated back a few years ago. He remembers everything.

“One day, I will get back at you for what you did to me.”


	2. Chapter 2

It’s 11 o’clock on a Monday morning. The pavement in the Huang University campus is now damp due to the rain. Students running across buildings because they didn’t bring umbrellas, and trying to salvage their notes and papers. A weather like this is fit for a depressing week, as it is the start of the students’ finals. 

Lucas watches the raindrops from inside the classroom. His professor is around 10 minutes late. Not really a surprise, it’s a regular occurrence at this point. He scans the room for Dejun, but he hasn’t come in either. After a few more minutes, the professor arrives, greets the class, and starts to set up his presentation. No sign of Dejun.

“Is he not coming today?” Lucas thinks to himself. Does this mean he has to look for Dejun himself? He doesn’t know the rest of his schedule, it could take walking around the whole campus just to find him. Lucas puts his head in his hands just thinking about it. 

After half an hour into the class, he hears one of the chairs behind him skid. When he looks back to see who made the noise, he makes eye contact with a man dressed in a white collared shirt, tucked into a pair of black jeans. 

It’s Xiao Dejun.

Lucas quickly shifts and looks to the front, letting out a relieved sigh. Thank god. He then realised that he didn’t listen to a word his professor said before Dejun arrived. He shrugs, it probably wasn’t that important anyway.

“For your final assessment, you will be doing an interview.” The professor announces. “You will be working in pairs or triads. All you need to do is interview someone in the business field and submit a paper of your group’s insights.” Perfect. A group work. As the rest of the class pick their group mates, Lucas turns behind him. “Hey Dejun, you wanna be my partner?” 

“Yeah, sure.” Dejun replies in a soft voice. Bingo. An excuse to be near him. Lucas smirks, it’s all coming together.

“I will be expecting an email of your questions to be approved! I’ll see you around!” The professor dismisses the class. As Lucas packs up his things, he turns to Dejun. “We can try drafting the questions today. Do you have any other classes?” “Yeah, I have another one until 2pm.” “Let’s meet at Louis and Leon’s! It’s just a few blocks from school.” “Okay, I’ll give you my number and text as soon as I’m done.” The two exchange numbers and Dejun leaves for his other class.

Boom. Lucas is partnered up with Dejun and even has his number. Makes it easier to watch over this guy. 

Lucas pulls out his phone, Winwin is probably done with his morning class as well. “Oh?” Winwin answers the phone. Lucas inhales excitedly. “Guess who I saw in class today?” “Dejun was there?” “Yup. I made him my partner for our final. Got his number and everything.” “That’s good bro, you can be around him without it being weird.” “I’m meeting him after lunch, wanna tag along?” “It won’t be awkward?” “Nah, not at all. If Dejun knows you too, then we can protect him together.” “Alright. I still have a class later in the afternoon though. Where are you meeting up?” “Louis and Leon’s, the usual.” “Okay, I’ll see you there.”

“Wait, don’t hang up yet!” Lucas shouts into the phone. Winwin flinches because of the sudden change in volume. “Jesus man, I’m still here. What is it?” Lucas hesitates before asking.

“Could you walk me there?” “You didn’t bring an umbrella, did you?” “Nope.” Lucas responds while looking at the rain pouring outside. He hears Winwin groan on the other end. “Ugh, fine! I guess this is for finding Dejun. Which building are you in?” “I’m in front of the College of Business Management building, I’ll see you in a bit!”  
Lucas hangs up and smiles to himself. He then sits down on a nearby bench and waits patiently for Winwin to come get him.

______

The students are already starting to fill up the tables in Louis and Leon’s cafe. Ten has made about 6 cappuccinos, 7 iced americanos, and 6 mochas in just an hour. Maybe more. He’s too tired to remember. Everytime the doors swing open, a little bit of him dies inside. He can’t wait to clock out.

Ten rolls up his sleeves and prepares to make more drinks as he sees two more people enter the cafe. 

“You tilted the umbrella on purpose! Now my shoulder’s all wet!” “It’s not my fault you have broad shoulders, you were the one who forgot to bring an umbrella!”

Ten recognises them, they’re regulars in the cafe, along with their other friend. He watches as they both take a spot near the counter this time. While Ten cleans up the workstation, he overhears their conversation.

“He just texted me, should be here any minute now.” “Are you sure it’s not gonna be awkward? I mean, I’m just gonna work on my stuff here.” “You'll be fine, you can even help us if you like. Just don’t completely ignore him.” “Oh, I think I see him.”

Ten sees another person approach the cafe, but it doesn’t look like their friend at all. A completely new face. When they open the door, the students near the counter call him over. “Over here Dejun!”

Ten abruptly stops. That name. There’s no way. Could it be?

The new guy waves at both him and his friend while walking the table. “I hope you don’t mind that my friend Winwin is here.” Lucas tells him as he pulls out the seat next to him. “Oh, no worries. You guys can just call me Xiaojun by the way.”

Xiaojun? Xiao Dejun? No. Fucking. Way.

Ten quickly snaps out of his shocked state when he sees Winwin at the counter. “I’ll get two iced americanos and one chocolate frappe. For dine in.” Ten takes down Winwin’s order. “Hey, I was wondering.” Ten asked the customer. “Where’s your other friend?” “Hendery? He has a class now.” Winwin raises his eyebrow at Ten. “Why do you ask?” “No reason, just a bit surprised another person came in today with you guys.” “Oh, that’s Lucas’ classmate, they’re partnered up for their final.” Winwin gives Ten the payment. “I see, your order will be ready in a few minutes.” Winwin thanks him and returns to the table.

“Hey.” Ten turns to one of his colleagues. “Can you cover for me? I just need to make an important phone call. I’ll be quick.”

______

Kun is in the middle of organising spreadsheets when the phone on his desk starts to vibrate. Ten’s calling him. Why now? Kun tries to ignore it to finish his work, but it keeps vibrating. He gets annoyed and grabs his phone, making his way to the break room.

“Ten what the hell!? Why are you calling?! Do you want me to lose my job?!” “Kun, you will not fucking believe who I saw!” “Can’t it wait until we get home?!” “I saw him!” “Who?!”

“Xiao Dejun!” 

After hearing that name, Kun’s whole body completely freezes up, he’s suddenly wide awake. His breathing starts getting heavier, he feels his anger rush through every inch of his body. So much that he gets a bit dizzy, he sits down to catch his breath. That name. His father. The news. The pain. Everything. 

“Where did you see him?” Kun whispers into the phone. “Tell me now.”

“He’s at the cafe, like where I work. I think he studies in the uni a few blocks away from here.” 

He was so close, this whole time. Kun never thought he’d find him but there he was, less than an hour away. How convenient.

“Kun?” Ten was still on the other end. “What are you planning to do?”

Kun takes a deep breath, cracking his fingers one by one to try and calm down. “I’ll tell you once you get home.” “Oh right, about the rent-“ “Forget the rent. I’ll let it slide, because you’ve done me such a huge favour.” He hangs up, puts his phone on the table, and cracks his knuckles. He didn’t think he’d do this so soon. But if the opportunity is there, how can he say no? He chuckles to himself, regains his composure, and goes back to work.

_____

“You think these questions are okay to ask?” Xiaojun asks his partner. “Yeah, I think so, we can email it tomorrow so that we can focus on finding someone to interview.”

“You guys are doing an interview?” Winwin looks up from his laptop screen. “Yeah.” Lucas answers. “All we need to do is interview someone, then write a paper with our insights. Shouldn’t be too hard.” “Do you have someone in mind?” “That’s the hard part. Xiaojun, do you have any family that works in business?” 

“Nope.” Xiaojun says, not looking up from his notebook. Winwin and Lucas look at each other, perplexed. Xiaojun didn’t mention his dad. “And even if I did, I doubt they’d be available.”

“You know anybody?” Lucas points his pen at Winwin, who shakes his head no. Lucas doesn’t know anyone either. Crap, maybe he should ask Hendery later. While the boys think of what to do, Ten arrives with their orders and sets them down on the table.

“What are you guys busy with?” Ten makes some small talk. “Final assessment.” Lucas answers while getting his drink. “We need to interview someone from the business field. We don’t know anyone though.” 

“I know someone.” “You do?!” Lucas almost spills his drink. They all laugh due to Lucas’ clumsiness. “Yup, my roommate. I think he’d be more than willing to have an interview with you.” 

Lucas stands up and shakes Ten’s hand. “Woah! Thank you so much! Can you give us his email?” He hands Ten a tissue and pen to write it down, Winwin and Xiaojun holding back their laughter from Lucas’ antics. Ten returns behind the counter and wishes them luck in the coming weeks.

_____

It’s around 11 o’clock in the evening, the boys chilling in their dorm. Winwin and Hendery are watching a movie while Lucas is in his room, already fast asleep.

“Oh yeah, Hendery.” Winwin sits down with a bowl of microwave popcorn. “I almost forgot to tell you. Ten was looking for you earlier.” Hendery almost choked on his coke, not believing what came out of his friend’s mouth. “I’m serious! While I was ordering, he asked me where our other friend is, he probably means you dude!” Winwin giggles as he notices Hendery’s cheeks turn pink. 

“And here I was thinking you two ruined it for me.” Hendery throws popcorn at Winwin. “Hey! That was mostly Lucas’ fault!” “You pointed it out first! Don’t act so innocent on me, Sicheng!” The two friends continue to bicker, Lucas is a heavy sleeper anyways, he won’t hear anything. 

“You really like him?” Winwin turns to Hendery, ears and cheeks both light pink. “I can’t say like yet, I haven’t even talked to him properly. He probably only sees me as a regular in the coffee shop.” “Better than a complete stranger.” Hendery agrees while attempting to catch popcorn in his mouth. 

“You plan on asking him out?” “Ten? Would he even want to go out with me?” “He might, you never know. I don’t think he’d ask where you were unless he was a bit interested.” “If you say so.” Hendery downs his coke, still doubting that the cute barista would want to get to know him.

“What do you and Lucas plan on doing after college?” Hendery changes the topic. “It’s a secret.” Winwin replies in a singsong voice. “Hey! You can’t just keep secrets from me! I’ve been with you guys since freshman year!” “We’ll tell you some other time.” Winwin shifts his attention to the TV screen.

The boys watch a few minutes of the movie until Hendery breaks the silence.

“I’ll miss you guys.” Winwin looks back at Hendery. “Hmm?”

“Assuming you’ll move out after grad, I’ll miss seeing your asses every single day.” “Don’t worry Hendery, I don’t think we’ll move right away. And even if we do, we’ll probably be around this area.” “Alright, you better promise me that.” “Of course.”

The two fist bump and continue watching the movie.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s around 1:30 in the afternoon. Kun luckily gets to work at home today on a drizzly Tuesday. While responding to some emails, he comes across an unfamiliar one. It must have been sent by a student. He opens it, it reads:

Good Afternoon, Mr. Qian,

We are Huang Xuxi and Xiao Dejun from Huang University. We are currently studying Business Management and for our class, we are assigned to interview a business professional. You were referred to us by your friend, Ten, who we met at Louis and Leon’s cafe. If you are available, we would like to request an interview with you. We would love to gain new insights regarding the field of business.

We look forward to hearing from you, if you have any concerns, please let us know!

Sincerely,

Huang Xuxi  
Xiao Dejun

Kun puts his hand over his mouth and snickers to himself. “He’s making this way too easy for me.” He whispers as he pinches his lower lip pensively. He hears the door behind him open as he turns around to see Ten dressed up to go to his shift at the cafe. 

“They emailed you?” Ten walks up to Kun and rests his hand on Kun’s office chair. “How did you even get them to email me?” “I’ll do anything if it means I get to live here for free.” Kun punches Ten’s hip after hearing that comment.

“Ow!” Ten yelps. “Jesus, why are you so aggressive?” “Keep talking like that and I’ll charge you more.”

Ten rubs his hip. “So, how are you gonna get Dejun alone?” “We’ll have to get rid of this Xuxi guy.” “Lucas?” The two men think for a moment. Ten raises his eyebrows and whispers something into Kun’s ear before heading out. 

“Hey! You really think that will work?!” “You just gotta trust me.” Ten shuts the front door. Kun turns back to his laptop. Ten might be an annoying roommate most of the time, but lately he’s been quite useful to Kun. Perhaps both of them should have even just a little bit of fun with something like this.

______

Lucas sits on an empty bench under the shade of a tree, waiting for Winwin to finish his class. While working on his other papers, he receives an email notification. It reads:

Hello! I hope this email finds you well.

Thank you for reaching out to me, I would love to be interviewed. If it’s okay with the both of you, I would like to have it in my own apartment this Thursday. I will send the address once I get a response. Again, thank you for reaching out to me, and I look forward to meeting both of you :)

Sincerely, 

Qian Kun

“He replied earlier than I expected.” Lucas thought to himself. At least they’ll get it over with. Lucas texts Xiaojun about the interview then goes back to work.

A few minutes after, he hears someone call him. “Hey Lucas!” “Oh, Hendery! You finished early?” “Yeah, what are you up to?” “Just revising my papers. Oh, me and Winwin are gonna go to the bike shop later today, wanna come?” “Ah, I can’t. Need to start on my paper.” “Okay, where will you be?” “Louis and Leon’s.” Lucas makes a kissy face at Hendery.

“Oh shut up!” Hendery can’t help but feel his cheeks burn a bit. “I’m just gonna work on my paper, that’s all.” “Sure bud.” Lucas smiles playfully at Hendery. “Oh, would you look at the time!” Hendery says as he looks at his non-existent watch. “I should get going. Gotta start it early!” Hendery starts running away while Lucas shouts at him. “Hey! I know damn well you don’t run this fast for a paper!” 

Lucas sits back down and feels his phone vibrate. It’s from Xiaojun:

“thursday sounds good !!”

“i have a class til 5pm tho, is that ok??”

Lucas texts back: “yea, ill tell him that we can meet him at 6”

He puts his phone away and types his response to Kun’s email.

______

It’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Hendery is still in the cafe working on his paper, while occasionally glancing at the counter where Ten is. Ten almost makes eye contact with him, but he looks back at his laptop screen. He’s probably being so obvious.

Hendery sees Ten approach his table with his drink. Alright, just act natural. Just be cool with it.

Ten sets drink down onto the table. “Sorry that it was a bit late. One of our machines isn’t functioning today.” “Don’t sweat it!” Hendery cringes inside. God, why did he say that?

Ten giggles at him. “Are you doing a paper?” “Uh, yeah!” “Oh okay, good luck with that!” He starts to walk away from the table. Hendery, say something!

“Wait! Ten?” Ten turns around. “Hmm?” “Are you...free sometime this week?” Hendery waits anxiously for a response. His leg is slightly shaking under the table, Ten doesn’t see that right? God, he probably thinks he’s dumb.

“Actually, I was gonna ask you the same thing.” Ten responds, his lips forming a grin.

Wait. What does that mean? He was gonna ask him too? Does that mean he said yes?

“Really?” Hendery stutters. “Like, you want to hang out?” “Yeah! Although, I’m more surprised you asked first, aren’t you busy?” Hendery probably should have waited until next week, but it’s too late now. “Nah, it’s ok. So, when will you be free?” “I was thinking Thursday, around 6pm. We could have dinner together!” “That sounds nice!”

The two awkwardly wave each other goodbye when Ten returns to his station. Hendery can’t hide his smile. He actually asked him out! Hendery puts his hand near his heart, it’s beating really fast. He takes a deep breath to try and calm down, and continues his paper. 

After about half an hour, Hendery packs up to head back to the dorm. “Hendery!” Ten calls him when he’s about to leave. “See you on Thursday!” He notices Ten has an eye smile, cute.

“See you on Thursday.” Hendery exits the cafe, skipping as he walks to the dorm.

_____

It’s around 5:30pm, most of the students have already gone home or are finishing up their Thursday night classes. The sun starts to set as Lucas and Hendery walk through the empty street from their dorm. 

“Good luck on your little date.” Lucas nudges Hendery while holding the handles of his brand new red bike. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily a date, it’s mostly just hanging out, you know, as bros.” “Yeah, bros who kiss.” Lucas puckers his lips at him. Hendery pokes his forehead in retaliation. “Good luck on your interview, by the way. Where are you meeting him?” “At his place, Xiaojun will take a taxi.” 

Lucas mounts the bike. “See you back at the dorm!” He yells as he bikes past the streetlights in front of Hendery. 

Hendery walks to the entrance of Louis and Leon’s to pick up Ten. He sees Ten put away his apron, pick up his bag, and go outside the cafe. “You sure your colleagues don’t mind you clocking out early?” “I already asked them to cover for me, just for today. You wanna go to a bar?” Ten links his arm with Hendery’s, smiling brightly at him. Hendery nods and they head to a bar in the middle of the city street.

They take the seats in front of the bartender, and order some drinks. Hendery has always admired Ten from afar, but now he’s here, sitting right next to him, talking to him. Hendery realises he spaced out and was staring directly at Ten. “You okay?” Ten asks him. “Uh, yeah! Psh, totally.” Goddamnit Hendery, you’re probably creeping him out. “So, what exactly do you major in?” Ten continues. “Oh, theatre!” “You’re a theatre kid? That explains a lot.” 

Explains a lot? What does he mean by that? Has he been paying attention to Hendery too?

“What was the paper you were working on the other day?” “An analysis paper. Had to write stuff about our assigned plays.” “Would you want to be part of a play?” “Yeah, maybe. I would suit being an actor in a play, wouldn’t I?” Hendery strikes a bold pose in an attempt to make Ten laugh, but he just stares at him, with his pretty brown eyes. Hendery somehow got Ten to hang out with him and yet, he’s still making a fool of himself. The bartender gives them their drinks, and Hendery quickly pours himself a shot and downs it. “Woah, drinking already?” Ten looks at Hendery. “ We haven’t even eaten yet.”

Hendery sets his shot glass down and pours another shot. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He cannot stand being his flustered, awkward, sober self. According to his dorm mates, he’s the confident, flirty type of drunk. Lucas once told him that he told Winwin about 13 different pick up lines and even tried to kiss him on the cheek several times. Not that he plans to do that with Ten, but the alcohol could give him a needed boost of confidence. Ten doesn’t look too worried about him anyway.

An hour passes, and Hendery has had one too many drinks. “You okay?” He manages to hear Ten. “I think you’ve had enough for today.” Ten pays the bartender, takes Hendery’s hand, and leads him outside the bar. “Hey, where are we going?” Ten doesn’t answer him. He stumbles when Ten pulls him into an isolated corner, away from the restaurants and shops. 

He sees Ten smiling at him, his back against the wall. “You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re drunk.” Ten laughs and bites his lip seductively. Hendery, in his drunken state, places his hands on Ten’s waist, and boldly tries to kiss him. Ten cups his face and mutters in his ear. “I’m sorry that I have to do this to you.” 

Before Hendery could say anything, Ten grabs his shoulders and knee jerks him in the stomach, causing him to fall backwards. “Hey!” Hendery clutches his stomach in pain. “Why did you do that?”

“It’s really nothing personal.” Ten swiftly kicks Hendery in the face, knocking him out.

______

Winwin’s phone rings in the middle of him studying in the dorm. He checks the number, but doesn’t recognise it. The number doesn’t end with 00, it couldn’t possibly be Yangyang. He ignores it and goes back to studying, but he couldn’t focus with his phone going off repeatedly. After a few more minutes of buzzing, he finally picks it up.

“Hello?” “Oh? Is this Winwin? It’s me, Ten!” “Ten? How did you get my-“ “Have you seen Hendery?” “Huh? Isn’t he with you?” “No, he hasn’t even arrived yet. Do you know where he is?” “What do you mean he’s not with you?”

Winwin doesn’t understand. Hendery wouldn’t get lost, he knows the route like the back of his hand. Plus, Lucas walked out with him. The only reason Hendery wouldn’t be there is if…

No. No, no, no, no. 

Winwin immediately thinks about the absolute worst situations, his heart beating faster and faster. In a panic, he hangs up on Ten, grabs his ear pieces from his drawer, and runs out of the dorm. 

______

“Why did you choose this field?” Lucas asks the interviewee. 

“Well, my father has had a lot of experience in the field, and I knew that I could learn a lot from him. I always saw him as my role model so I followed in his footsteps.” Kun answers.

Xiaojun scribbles Kun’s answer in his notebook when he hears Lucas’ ringtone go off. He sees that Winwin is calling him. “I’m so sorry, can I take this outside?” Lucas apologies to Kun. “Ah, yes, no worries.” Lucas stands up and goes outside Kun’s apartment. The two could still hear Lucas’ voice.

“What do you mean he’s missing?!” 

“Huh?! Ten didn’t see him?!” 

“That’s fucking impossible, who would be after Hendery?!” 

Lucas goes silent and doesn’t go back inside. After a while, Xiaojun gets a text from him:

“imso sorry i have to go”

“its an emergency pls can u finish the interview i need to go”

Xiaojun can feel the panic from Lucas’ texts and responds:

“its ok go hurry i can do this alone”

Xiaojun puts away his phone. Kun keeps his eyes on the front door. “Is he not coming back inside?” “He said he has an emergency, we’re sorry about that.” “Don’t worry about it. How many questions do you have left for me?” “Just one more.”

Xiaojun reads the question from his laptop. “What advice would you like to give to those interested in becoming CEOs and starting a company?”

Kun ponders on it. “Know how to keep promises.” “Could you elaborate on that?”

“Well, I believe a good CEO shouldn’t give their employees a false hope and sense of security when in a time of inconvenience, they will simply leave them in the dust.” 

Xiaojun suddenly stops writing and turns to look at Kun.

“Does that sound familiar to you, Xiao Dejun?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Xiaojun keeps his eyes on the floor, realising the reason why Kun was so eager to meet them, to meet him.

Kun stands up and starts to walk around the coffee table. “So you deny what your father did?” Xiaojun can’t move or speak. There’s strange tension in the air. 

“You know he’s guilty, I’m sure you’re old enough to understand.” Kun slowly makes his way behind the couch Xiaojun is sitting on. “His reputation was at stake, and in response, he left his workers’ livelihoods at stake. My father suffered as well as the others, he garnered a huge debt just by being loyal to your father, and what did he get in return?” Kun’s voice starts to get angrier, harsher, scarier with each word.

“He didn’t even live long enough to pay everything off, so my mother and I had to work. Do you know how long it took to pay it? How much abuse my mother had to endure from her superiors? How much of my teenage years were wasted worrying about my next meal and applying for jobs?”

Xiaojun gathers the courage and makes a run for it, heading for the front door, but Kun suddenly grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him back. He wraps his arm around Xiaojun’s neck, and holds him in a chokehold. Xiaojun struggles, repeatedly punching Kun’s arm but to no avail, he’s too strong.

“I know you have a grudge against my father, and I don’t blame you!” Xiaojun manages to yell while struggling to breathe. “But I’m telling you, I’m not him!” “You might not be, but you will inherit his business and wealth! How am I supposed to be assured that you will be any better than him?!” 

Xiaojun starts to lose his vision, his breaths getting shorter. Before completely losing consciousness, he hears Kun say one last thing.

“He must have given you such a good life, but it was at the expense of mine.”

Xiaojun’s vision blacks out, and he feels himself fall onto the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

“Ten’s not here?”

“Nope, he left about an hour and a half ago with someone.” One of the employees at Louis and Leon’s cafe responds. “What was the person wearing?” “Hmm, a loose yellow flannel, black beanie and track pants.” 

Hendery. Ten was with him this whole time? Where are they? What did he do to him?!

Winwin thanks the employee and goes outside the cafe. His hand balls into a fist, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hand. Hendery is in danger, and he has no clue where he is. 

“Winwin!” He sees Lucas stumbling off his bike. “Where’s Ten?”

“He lied.” “What?” “He lied to me. I asked them. They said he left with Hendery a while ago.” 

Lucas puts his head in his hands. They trusted Ten, especially Hendery. “Do you have any idea where they could be?” Winwin shakes his head no. They both try to catch their breath when Winwin’s eyes widen and he turns to Lucas. “Wait, if you’re here, where’s Xiaojun?” “He might still be at Mr. Qian’s place, or he went home already.” “Didn’t Ten say Mr. Qian was his roommate?” Lucas’ eyes widened too. He left Xiaojun and Kun alone. 

“Hurry! Go back!” Winwin yells. “Something might have happened to Xiaojun while you were gone!” He tosses Lucas his case with his ear pieces before he mounts his bike again and goes back to Kun’s place.

Winwin puts on his ear pieces and taps them twice to turn them on. “Yangyang! Come in! We need your help!” 

“I’m here.” He hears Yangyang on the other end. “What do you need me to do?” 

“Can you access all the security cameras in this area?! Our friend went missing! He was wearing a yellow flannel, beanie, and track pants!” “I’m on it!” He hears Yangyang typing fast on the other end.

______

As soon as the elevator doors open, Lucas dashes to Kun’s unit. He hurriedly knocks on the door. “Hey! Is anyone here?!” No answer. “Xiaojun! Are you there?!” Still no answer. He pats the pockets of his pants, checking for anything that could pick the lock. He finds an old paper clip and uses it to unlock the front door. 

There’s no one in the living room. He checks the other rooms, no sign of Xiaojun or Kun anywhere. 

He taps his ear pieces twice. “Sicheng! They’re not here!” “You weren’t supposed to leave him alone!” Winwin yells at him from the other end. “Hey! You really think I intended to?! How was I supposed to just stay there when you called me saying Hendery was missing?!”

“Quiet! Both of you!” Yangyang scolds the two agents. “I found them!”

Winwin and Lucas listen intently, if Hendery is there, then Xiaojun must be there too. “They seem to be dragging your friend and Dejun to some abandoned warehouse, it’s a couple of streets away.” “Give us the directions! We’ll meet there.” Winwin and Lucas mount their bikes and head towards the warehouse.

______

“What would they want with Hendery?” “It was probably a distraction, to get you out of the apartment. To get Xiaojun alone.” Winwin chains their bikes on a nearby pole. “I don’t blame you for running off though, plus, it’s technically my fault for calling you in the first place. I’m sorry.” “Hey, it’s not your fault either. They tricked both of us.” Lucas puts his arm around Winwin’s shoulder as they walk towards the abandoned warehouse. Winwin hugs him back and takes a deep breath. “Let’s focus. We can’t let anything else happen to them.”

The two agents quietly enter the warehouse. Watching each other’s backs, they scan the area. All they see is shelves of cardboard boxes collecting dust, until they see a silhouette in the distance. 

“How did you find us?” It was Ten. That bastard. 

“Where are they?” Winwin keeps his guard up. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Ten puts his hands behind his back as stares them down. He notices that both of them have ear pieces. “You both work undercover. No wonder.” 

“Where’s Xiaojun and Hendery?” Lucas balls his hands into fists, keeping his guard up as well. 

“You’re here for both of them?” Ten looks to his side to see another silhouette, holding rope. “That’s unfortunate, we’d love to keep one of them.” He steps under the dim light. It’s Kun.

“Let them both go and no one gets hurt.” Winwin cautiously takes a few steps forward.

“Well that’s no fun.” Kun puts down the rope. “What if we want someone to get hurt?”

Kun and Ten step to the side to reveal two people, both tied to the chairs, backs facing them with bags over their heads. They’re both wearing similar black clothing.

“Let’s play a little game, shall we?” Kun walks over to one of the chairs, Ten walks to the other one.

“If you can guess who is who, you get to choose who to spare. But if you guess wrong, both of them will die.” Kun and Ten bring out box cutters from their pockets. “It’s your choice.”

“Playing dirty?” Winwin scans the area once again and makes eye contact with Lucas. “Guess we’ll have to play dirty too.”

Winwin and Lucas suddenly sprint in opposite directions, heading for the storage on the sides of the warehouse. Ten slides out the blade of the box cutter and immediately runs after Winwin. “Hey!” Kun shouts after him. “God, that guy never listens.” He finds Lucas on the other side and dashes after him.

Ten finds Winwin and charges at him. Winwin jumps and uses both of his legs to kick Ten in the face. He gets up and tries to land kicks but Ten dodges most of his attacks. He kicks Winwin across the face, causing him to hit his head on the nearby shelf. Winwin swiftly jumps on the ledge of the shelf and throws a box at Ten. He then tackles him from above, steals the box cutter, and races out of the aisle. 

He finds one of the hostages unguarded, cuts the rope, and removes the bag from their head. “Hendery!” He sees his friend’s face with dried blood under his nose. “What did they do to you?!” “What are you doing here?!” “I’m here to save your life!” “Ten’s behind you!” 

Winwin looks back and sees Ten wiping the blood on his lips. He dashes towards him but Ten lands a kick on his stomach and across the face. Hendery grabs his chair and throws it at Ten, giving his friend enough time to get up. Winwin grabs Ten by the collar of his shirt and slams him on the shelf behind him.

“Never lay your hands on my friends again.” Winwin says as he knees Ten in the stomach and elbows him in the face, knocking him out.

______

Lucas carefully treads through the aisle. He spots Kun on the opposite side and pushes a heavy box towards him, hitting him in the shoulder. Kun sees Lucas and goes under the shelf, and tackles him. Lucas grabs Kun’s shoulders and tosses his body to the side, his back hitting the shelf. He picks up the box cutter from the floor and tries to escape, but Kun grabs his leg. He stands up and punches Lucas across the face. He attempts to steal the box cutter back but Lucas lands a punch on his face, causing him to fall backwards. Lucas sprints away while Kun spits out a bloody tooth from his mouth, smirking.

Lucas finds Winwin and Hendery as they untie Xiaojun. “You guys should run, we’ll take care of it!” Lucas points them to the exit. “What about you guys?” Xiaojun asks as he removes the remaining rope from his body. “We’ve had worse days.” Winwin jokes as Hendery looks at him worryingly. “This isn’t as bad as the other shit they made us do. I’m just glad you guys are okay.” 

Their moment is cut short when they hear the sound of a gun cocking. They all turn to see Kun aiming a gun at them.

“Nobody move!” Kun shouts, blood dripping from his mouth. “Hand Dejun over!” 

“Hey! What do you want from him?!” Lucas pulls Xiaojun behind him.

“That’s not important. If you don’t hand him over, I’ll kill all of you! You think I don’t have the guts to do it?!” 

Winwin and Lucas get ready to protect their friends but they hear the entrance of the warehouse opening. They see people in black suits armed with guns and a familiar figure.

“No, I don’t think I’ll let you do that.”

Yangyang gestures to the other agents to arrest Kun, now pointing his gun at them. “Who the hell are you?!” No one answers his question and the agents swiftly tackle Kun and arrest him. Winwin and Lucas give Yangyang a thumbs up and escort Hendery and Xiaojun out of the warehouse.

______

It’s a beautiful, clear, sunny day. The senior students of Huang University are scattered across the campus, having pictorials in their black togas, graduation caps and diplomas. The banner hung up on the main gates read: 

Congratulations Class of 2018!

“Hold it higher! Winwin can’t be seen!” “I’m working on it! Say cheese!” 

The three college friends smile brightly, holding their diplomas. They have finally graduated. The journey felt like forever, but the end of their university days arrived faster than they expected. No more having to write long boring papers or attending classes until 6 in the evening. 

“Xiaojun!” Lucas spots Xiaojun walking towards them and waves him over. “Take a picture with us man! Come on!” He runs over to them and poses for a selfie. He holds a rectangular red velvet box with a gold ribbon tied on the top.

“What’s that?” Winwin points at the box. “Did your dad give you a graduation gift?”

“Oh, it’s not for me.” Xiaojun gives it to Winwin. “He told me to give it to you guys.”

Winwin and Lucas slowly remove the lid. There are two gold medallions, intricately designed with shapes of crosses and a small ruby in the middle.

“Woah!” Hendery peaks behind Winwin’s shoulders, mouth agape. “Is that real?” Xiaojun nods. “This is for saving my life, as well as Hendery’s.” 

“Where are you gonna go after this?” Lucas looks back at Xiaojun. “I’m taking my masters abroad.” “Where?” “Canada.” The three of them cheer him on. “Woah! Good luck over there! Don’t forget about us!” “I won’t, don’t worry. I’m gonna leave in a few months so we can hang out til then.”

After a few more minutes of talking, Xiaojun waves them goodbye. They stroll towards the main gates to take another picture, but they see someone approaching them.

“Aw, you came for us!” Winwin and Lucas gush at Yangyang wearing a suit carrying a bouquet of flowers. “Ah, are you guys done already? Just take this, I’m sweating so much.” Lucas takes the flowers from Yangyang. “Just follow me, I have something else for you two, Hendery can come too.”

“What is it?” Winwin questions as they make their way back to their dorm. “Let’s just say it’s the agency’s graduation gift.” Yangyang smiles at them and gestures towards the front of their dorm. There’s a long black sheet laid over what seems to be the silhouette of….wait a minute.

Winwin and Lucas excitedly take the sheet off, revealing a sleek black Chevrolet car. They gasp and Lucas checks out the inside of the car while Winwin hugs Yangyang. “Thank you so much! We’ll keep working hard!” “See? Where would you guys be without me? Now let go please I wanna get out of this suit.” Yangyang hands them the car keys.

They invite Hendery to sit inside the car and turn on the ignition. Yangyang stands on the sidewalk and knocks on the window of the driver’s seat where Lucas is sitting. He reels down the window. “Forgot to ask, you do know how to drive, right?” “I have had my driver’s license since last year! I know what I’m doing. Thanks a lot for this.” He fist bumps Yangyang. 

“So, where are you guys off to?” “There’s a beach less than an hour away!” Winwin tells Yangyang from the passenger seat. “You wanna come?” “Nah. I’m too busy. And I desperately need to change.” He uncomfortably adjusts his tie. “I’ll see you guys again in maybe two months or so.” Yangyang waves them goodbye as they start heading to the beach.

______

“You think I’d make a good Neo Culture Agent?” Hendery asks out of the blue. “You could.” Winwin looks for the next song in his playlist. “You’ll still need training though.” “Hey! If it wasn’t for me, Ten would have hurt you more by now!” Hendery crosses his arms. “You underestimate me.” “It’s not like that!” Lucas says, keeping his eyes on the road. “It’s standard procedure. You’ll need a lot more training if you wanna do this full time with us.” 

“Ask Yangyang to consider it. Can you imagine us going on missions together? We’d be a powerful trio!” “It will take awhile for you to get the same missions we get.” Winwin puts his phone down. “You’ll get the rookie, low risk missions first. Then, once you develop your skills, the missions get more dangerous.” 

Hendery leans back into his seat. “By the way, what happened to Ten and Mr. Qian?”  
“They’re probably behind bars.” Lucas looks through the rear view mirror. “That’s the only thing Yangyang told us. They shouldn’t be a problem though.” “Sorry about Ten.” Winwin looks out the window. “It’s alright, I’ve learned my lesson: never have a crush for more than 5 months.” “Hey, don’t be like that.” Lucas finds the parking lot next to the beach. “We’ll always have your back.”

Lucas turns off the ignition and they all step outside the car. They feel a strong windy breeze and see the blue waves of the ocean water. “It’s so nice and windy today!” Hendery immediately starts rushing to the water. 

“How do you feel?” Lucas turns to Winwin, putting his sunglasses on. “Hmm?” “This is like, our first break in two years.” He puts his hands in his pockets and walks with Winwin on the sand. “Feels more freeing since we don’t have school anymore. It’s shorter than I expected, but I’ll take it. They did give us a car too.” “Finally, I can drive something.” “I’ll get my driver’s license soon too, it can’t just be you driving all the time.” 

“Guys!” They hear Hendery calling them. “Last one in the water pays for dinner!”

“Hope you brought your wallet.” Lucas suddenly dashes towards the water. “Not unless you brought yours!” Winwin runs after him. They both jump into the water and splash each other playfully.

They are going to make the most out of these two months, because they know they’ll have so much more to do being full time Neo Culture Agents.

**Author's Note:**

> hiii this is my first au so any comments, kudos, or criticism will be very helpful and appreciated !! thank u for waiting for all the chapters to be posted and enjoy reading :>>


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